Tōa Kōki
See Tōa (disambig) for the other Tōa companies. Tōa Kōki Seisakusho (東亜光機製作所, meaning Far-East Optical Works), usually called Toakoki The Roman spelling that was used by the company is not known, and it is possible that Toakoki is a mistaken name recently crafted by Western collectors. , was a Japanese camera maker. Some sources say that the company was called Takahashi Kōgaku (高橋光学) at the beginning, but this is unconfirmed. , items 3017–21, attributes the Gelto models to Takahashi up to 1938 and to Tōa Kōki later. This page at Asacame says that the company was called Takahashi in 1936 and changed its name to Tōa Kōki in 1950, but the latter date is obviously a mistake. A different Takahashi camera maker existed in 1943. . The address of the company in 1943 was Adachi-ku Senju (足立区千住) 5–94 in Tokyo. , listing Japanese camera production as of April 1943. Tōa Kōki made the Gelto 3×4 camera distributed by Hattori Tokei-ten from late 1936 or early 1937. Advertisements dated 1937 and 1938 show the name "Gelto Camera Werke", Advertisement in December 1937, reproduced in , p.70; advertisement in September 1938, observed in an online auction. but it was probably not the name of any actual company (see Camera Works). The earliest original document observed so far with the Tōa Kōki name is dated 1939. Advertisement in March 1939, reproduced in , p.70. The same company also made the Arsen, a close derivative of the Gelto taking 4×4cm pictures, often attributed to Takahashi Kōgaku. Made by Tōa Kōki: , item 138. Made by Takahashi Kōgaku: , item 3004; , p.912. The attribution to Takahashi is certainly false, at least after 1939. The Semi Gelto 4.5×6 folder and the National and Ugein folders were made by Tōa Kōki too. Semi Gelto: . Ugein: , items 84–5. An October 1943 advertisement reproduced in , p.100, also states that the maker of the Ugein was "Tōkyō Tōa Kōki-sha" (東京東亜光機社). Tōa Kōki survived the war and the production of the Gelto was resumed. In January 1946, the company was one of the 17 founding members of the Optical and Precision Instruments Manufacturers' Association (光学精機工業協会, Kōgaku Seiki Kōgyō Kyōkai). Lewis, p.60. The early postwar Gelto have a TOAKOKI SEISAKUSHO marking, and were distributed by Taiyōdō in the late 1940s, together with the Semi Gelto whose production was perhaps resumed too. It is supposed that the Geltoflex TLR cameras were made by the same Tōa Kōki company. By 1952, the Gelto was advertised by the company Shinwa Seiki (新和精機), still based in Tōkyō, Senju (東京・千住), certainly the new name of Tōa Kōki. Advertisement published in the July 1952 issue of Shashin Salon, reproduced in , p.136. See also the above-mentioned page at Asacame, saying that the company became Shinwa Seiki in 1952. 127 film * Gelto (3×4, collapsible), various models * Arsen (4×4, collapsible) The National (4×6.5) was perhaps made by Tōa Kōki too. The Slick (3×4) is attributed by some sources to the same company, for an unknown reason. 120 film * Semi Gelto I, II and S (4.5×6 folder) * Gelto Six (6×6 folder) * Ostenflex (6×6 TLR, conjectural only) * National and Ugein (4.5×6 and 6×6 folders) * Geltoflex (6×6 TLR), at least three versions Other * Gelto rangefinder, sold ¥16.50 in 1939 Advertisement reproduced in , p.70. Notes Bibliography * * * * * * Toa Koki